1. Field of the Invention
The novel salts of the present invention possess the advantageous antitumor properties of the known parent compound and in addition have unexpectedly high water solubility, thus allowing preparation of useful dosage forms for intravenous administration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The platinum coordination compound 2-hydroxymalonato diammine platinum (II) having the structure ##STR1## is generically disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,707 as an anti-tumor agent. This compound has shown promising activity in a number of animal tumor systems and is presently undergoing further evaluation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,418 discloses the platinum coordination compound 2-hydroxymalonato(1,2-diaminocyclohexane)-platinum (II) of the formula ##STR2## This compound also has shown excellent antitumor activity in preliminary screening and is being subjected to more extensive investigation.
The platinum coordination compound 2-hydroxymalonato (1,1-diaminomethylcyclohexane)-platinum (II) of the formula ##STR3## is generically disclosed in U.K. Patent Application No. 2,024,823A as an antitumor agent. Initial screening data indicates that this compound is highly active against L1210 leukemia in mice.
When an antitumor agent such as 2-hydroxymalonato diammine platinum (II), 2-hydroxymalonato (1,2-diaminocyclohexane) platinum (II) or 2-hydroxymalonato (1,1-diaminomethylcyclohexane) platinum (II) is employed for treating mammalian tumors, it is recognized that solubility of the agent is often the controlling factor in determining route or administration and dosage forms. For instance, a water-soluble substance can be generally administered intravenously whereas a water-insoluble material is limited to other forms of parenteral administration such as intramuscular and subcutaneous. A therapeutic agent having water-solubility also facilitates preparation of oral and non-intravenous parenteral dosage forms. Thus, it is decidedly advantageous if a therapeutic agent is water-soluble, particularly when one considers that the most direct route for achieving therapeutic blood levels of a drug is by intravenous administration.
The 2-hydroxymalonato coordination compounds of formulae I-III have very limited solubility in water and thus cannot be used as dosage forms for intravenous administration. Applicants are not aware of any literature disclosing salts of compounds I-III or attempts to prepare water-soluble dosage forms of these compounds for intravenous administration.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide water-soluble, stable, therapeutically acceptable forms of compounds I-III which can be administered intravenously (as well as by other routes). This object as well as other features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure set out below.